Look, we get it. You’re wondering if faxing even exists in 2019.
The short answer is, as long as there are hard copies of documents, faxing still performs a valuable service.
According to the market research firm, Arizton, the online fax industry is poised to grow to $2.4B by the year 2022.
What to look for in an online fax service
There are a ton of these online fax services out there, but there’s a lot of variation between platforms. As such, it’s important to approach your search after answering the following questions:
Once you figure that out, it’s merely a matter of choosing a service.
MetroFax
Metrofax is an online fax solution that starts at $7.95 per month and comes with a 30-day free trial so you can take it for a spin before committing. The set-up process is easy. You’ll sign up for an account and input your state and area code and select a plan.
The whole faxing experience is pretty straightforward. The platform allows you to send faxes as easily as an email, albeit with a clunkier interface that feels a little Windows 98.
This solution is ideal for those users who just want a fax service along with a storage system for incoming and outgoing faxes. It’s not an e-signing solution or comprehensive cloud storage system for all of your docs.
HelloFax
HelloFax is a user-friendly platform that offers e-signing and integrations with other popular cloud-based tools.
What’s nice is, you can use HelloFax for free if you need to send one fax a year or something. Receiving faxes is limited to paid accounts, but the entry-level Home Office plan is only $9.99 per month. You can send and receive 300 pages during that period.
That said, this platform is best reserved for the user who needs to send or receive a fax once in a blue moon (which is probably most of us). There’s no storage system, you can’t customize your cover page, and you just don’t get a ton of bang for your buck, here.
eFax
EFax is an online fax service that supports incoming and outgoing faxes and comes with some premium features. These include third-party storage , electronic signatures , lifetime storage , and a free mobile fax app.
Customers seem to like this service. It’s easy to use, and the mobile app provides a nice convenience for those who need to fax on the go or sign a document quickly from their phone. That said, some people reported that the billing and cancellation processes were less than satisfactory. So, hopefully, if you start using this service, you’ll never want to stop.
SRFax
SRFax is a great option for medical practices and other organizations that make their money dealing with sensitive data.
This fax service is HIPAA compliant with built-in security and encryption designed to keep data safe. Their key selling point is centered around enterprise and healthcare solutions. The service is pretty affordable even if you’re a lone-wolf freelancer who sends one fax here and there.
The basic plan includes a $3.29 monthly subscription that comes with unlimited storage and 25 pages of faxes per month. The Healthcare Professional Plus plan is a 10,000-page plan for $185 per month with some secured communications tools like PGP encryption for added security.
Nextiva
Nextiva starts at just $4.95 per month and works with both fax machines and email. That $5 price tag gives you 500 pages a month — which run through a 256-bit SSL encrypted portal, keeping sensitive data private.
Weirdly, the tool requires Flash , and some users have experienced glitching in email faxes.
While the portal looks nice, there are some weird issues with the interface. A reviewer from PCMag reported that clicking the View button at the top of the page leads to an empty fax viewer with no content, while the search button gives you a list with no filtering options.
In all, this is potentially a good option if you’re looking to send a lot of faxes for a low, low price. However, it may work better through an old school machine.
Wrapping up
It’s difficult to say which fax service is best. We’ve come a long way from having to use clunky old fax machines, but many of these services still have kind of an outdated feel.
Given the fact that there are many cloud-based solutions in the software space across the board, we’re not so sure of the statistic mentioned above.
